Inside Unmanned Systems

APR-MAY 2018

Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.

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35 April/May 2018 unmanned systems
inside
ENGINEERING. PRACTICE. POLICY.
NASA and a variety of big firms, including Airbus and Bell Helicopter, are working
to develop a transportation system that will ease road congestion in cities and
change how we travel from point A to point B. But while air taxis that whisk
passengers to their destinations or efficiently deliver cargo could someday be the
norm, there are several challenges to overcome before we get there.
by Renee Knight
A
s road travel in large cities be-
comes increasingly congested,
many believe there has to be a
better way for the public to safely travel
to work and other destinations—and that
better way is a concept known as Urban
Air Mobility, or UAM.
Until recently, UA M seemed like a
futuristic idea that wasn't likely to take
shape any time soon. But over the last
year or so, major players have started de-
veloping air taxis as well as the infrastruc-
ture necessary for these vehicles to safely
transport passengers and cargo. NASA,
Airbus, Uber, Boeing's Aurora Flight
Sciences, Bell Helicopter and Volocopter
are among the many heavy hitters making
progress in the UAM space.
"UAM will reduce congestion, reduce
transportation delays and enable on-de-
mand travel to deliver cargo and quickly
move people through the air," said Parimal
Kopardekar, senior technologist for air
transportation systems at NASA's Ames
Research Center in Silicon Valley. "It started
with using drones to carry small cargo pack-
ages, perform search and rescue missions or
for traffic monitoring, but with the excite-
ment and interest in electric vertical take-
off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, we're now
looking at moving people and larger cargo
through the air."
For the last few years, NASA and oth-
ers have been working to develop an un-
manned air traffic management (UTM)
system to safely integrate unmanned
aircraft system (UAS) into the National
Airspace and enable beyond visual line
of sight (BVLOS) f lights. They're now
looking to expand that same construct to
UAM, giving these vehicles the ability to
exchange information about their location
and to avoid each other while they're in
the sky, Kopardekar said.
Having that system in place is a vital
piece of UAM, but is just part of what
needs to be accomplished before air taxis
can routinely f ly passengers to their des-
tinations. Regulations, battery life and
creating the right infrastructure are all
important considerations, as is develop-
ing autonomous aircraft that can safely,
and quietly, carry people and packages to
where they need to go.
Catching a Very
Local Flight
Urban Air Mobility: